MICHIGAN 


STATE LIBRARY 


LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE DEPARTMENT. 


LAWS OF THE VARIOUS STATES 


RELATING TO 


PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES 


FEBRUARY, 1912. 











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PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES. 


Seven states now provide for presidential primaries and the direct 
election of delegates to national conventions, e. g., California, Nebraska, 
New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Wisconsin. 

The vital principles of all the laws are practically the same, that is, 
the securing of the sentiment of the electors as to the nominees for presi¬ 
dent and vice-president and the election of delegates known to favor the 
choice of the elector. In no state is the assent of the candidates for 
president or vice-president required for the placing of the name upon the 
primary ballot, the usual practice being the filing of a nominating peti¬ 
tion by a given number of electors resident in the state, most of the laws 
providing a maximum and minimum number of signatures to* such 
petitions. In all cases general laws are made to govern the regulation 
of primaries, counting, canvassing, returning, etc., of the votes. 

The primaries this year (1912) in these seven states will be held on 
the following dates: 

North Dakota, March 19th. 

South Dakota, March 26th. 

Wisconsin, April 2nd. 

Nebraska, April 17th. 

Oregon, April 19th. 

California, May 14th. 

New Jersey, May 20th. 

A complete list of references to magazine and periodical articles upon 
this subject is on file in the Legislative Reference Room. Additions to 
this list are being constantly made. 

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CALIFORNIA. 


Laws of Special Session, 1911. 

' CHAPTER 18 . 

An Act to provide for the expression, by the qualified electors of the 
several political parties of their choice for nomination by their party 
for president of the United States, and to provide for the election of 
the delegates of said political parties to their respective national con¬ 
ventions, and to call an election in conformity with the provisions of 
this act. 

[Approved December 24, 1911.] 

The people of the State of California do enact as follows: 

Section 1. On Tuesday, May 14th, 1912, and on the second Tuesday 
in May of every fourth year thereafter, there shall be held a primary 
nominating election, to be known as the May presidential primary elec¬ 
tion, at which the qualified electors of the several political parties shall 
have opportunity, on separate party ballots provided for that purpose, 
to express their preference as to the nominees of their respective parties 
for president of the United States, and also to elect the delegates of 
their respective parties to their respective national conventions for the 
nomination of their party candidates for president and vice-president 
of the United States. 

Sec. 2. The names of the candidates for nomination as president of 
the United States shall be printed upon the ballots, upon the filing of 
the nomination papers substantially as provided in section 5 of the act, 
entitled “An act to provide for and regulate primary elections, and pro¬ 
viding the method whereby electors of political parties may express their 
choice at such primary elections for United States senator, and to repeal 
an act entitled an act to provide for and regulate primary elections, 
and providing the method whereby electors of political parties may ex¬ 
press their choice at such primary elections for United States senator, 
approved March 24, 1909,” approved April 7, 1911, said act being also 
known and hereinafter referred to in this act as the “direct primary 
law:” Provided, That nomination papers for each of said candidates 
must be signed by not-less than one per centum of the voters of his party 
in each congressional district of the State: And further provided, That 
no candidate for nomination for president need sign or file any petition, 
affidavit, declaration, statement or paper of any kind to get his name 
upon the ballot, but that in the event that any person who is presented 
as a candidate for nomination for president by the filing of nomination 
papers as herein provided for, shall, on or before the thirty-fifth day 
before the date of the presidential primary election, announce by an 


6 


affidavit, declaration, or statement filed in the office of the secretary 
of state, that he is not a candidate for nomination for president, and 
that he does not wish liis name to be printed upon the ballot for said elec¬ 
tion, the said secretary of state shall not certify or transmit the name of 
such candidate to the respective county clerks or registrars of voters, and 
such name shall not be printed upon the ballots: And provided also, 
That verification deputies may be designated by any party supporter 
of any candidate for president, and the name of such supporter, followed 
by the words “a party supporter of” shall precede the name of the can¬ 
didate in the form of affidavit for verification deputies provided for in 
said section 5 of said “direct primary law.” The names of the several 
candidates for nomination for president together with the blank space 
for writing the name of such a candidate, and the headings for the same 
shall appear at the top and center of the ballot immediately below the 
instructions to voters, and shall be printed in heavy face, eight point, 
capital type. The order in which the names of the candidates for presi¬ 
dential nominee shall be printed upon the ballot, shall be the order in 
which the nomination papers of such candidates are filed with the sec¬ 
retary of state; and such names shall be printed one after the other 
in a horizontal line, each name being followed by a voting square, the 
space for the name and voting square together being headed by the words 
“For Presidential Nominee,” printed in heavy face ten point gothic type, 
and occupying no less than two and one-half inches of horizontal space. 
This space shall be left blank above the “No Preference Column” pro¬ 
vided for in section 5 of this act. Below the words “For Presidential 
Nominee” heading the blank space hereinbefore provided for, shall be 
the words “Blank Space” in six point gothic type. Above the words 
and spaces herein described shall be printed in heavy face twelve point 
gothic type the words “Vote for One as Your Choice for Presidential 
Nominee.” 

Sec. 3. The chairman of the state central committee of each of the 
political parties qualified to participate in the election provided for in 
this act shall notify the secretary of state on or before the first day of 
March of each bissextile or leap year as to the number of delegates to 
represent the state in the next national convention of his said party. 
If the state chairman, or any of them, fail to file such notice, it shall 
be the duty of the secretary of state to ascertain the said number of 
delegates from the call for said national convention issued by the na¬ 
tional committee of each party whose chairman has failed to notify him 
as aforesaid. 

The delegates who shall represent each political party at its national 
convention shall all be elected by the voters of the state at large. The 
secretary of state shall, on or before the tenth day of March of the year 
of the May presidential primary election, certify to the county clerk or 
registrar of voters of each county, or city and county, the number of 
delegates to be so elected by each of the political parties qualified to 
participate in the said election. Any political party shall be qualified 
to participate in the May presidential primary election which is qualified 
to participate in the September primary election according to the pro¬ 
visions of the “direct primary law.” 

Sec. 4. The names of persons to be voted upon as delegates to the re¬ 
spective national conventions of the several political parties shall be 


A 


printed upon the ballots of their respective parties upon the filing of 
nomination papers substantially in the form provided in section 5 of 
the “direct primary law:” Provided, That, in the case of each party, 
nomination papers for candidates for delegates must be signed by not 
less than one per centum of the voters of said party in each congressional 
district of the state: And provided also, That whenever a number of 
candidates for delegates join together in appointing the same verification 
deputies, and in filing statements with the secretary of state, as herein¬ 
after provided in this section, setting forth that said candidates for 
delegates prefer the same person as candidate for presidential nominee, 
there may be filed upon the same nomination paper the names of as great 
a number of candidates for delegates from any party as the total num¬ 
ber of delegates to be elected by said party, and no more than such num¬ 
ber : And provided further, That when the number of names of candi¬ 
dates printed upon the same nomination paper exceeds the number of 
congressional districts in the state, but is less than twice the number of 
such districts, the names of such candidates thus grouped together shall 
be so selected that not more than three and not less than one of such 
candidates shall reside in any one congressional district, and that when 
the number of names of candidates printed upon the same nomination 
paper exceeds twice the number of congressional districts in the state, 
the names of such candidates thus grouped together shall be so selected 
that not more than four and not less than two of such candidates shall 
reside in any one congressional district; and if not so selected said names 
shall not be grouped together on the ballot, but shall appear as indi¬ 
viduals. 

Candidates for delegate grouped together on the same nomination 
paper and selected as aforesaid shall be similarly grouped, in the same 
order of names, upon the ballots of their party: Provided, That such 
group of candidates for delegate has the endorsement of that candidate 
for presidential nominee for whom the members of said group have filed 
a preference, or the endorsement of such a state political organization 
created in support of the candidacy of said presidential nominee as shall 
not be repudiated by him as lacking authority to make such endorse¬ 
ment; said endorsement, either of the candidate or of the organization 
supporting him, to be filed with the secretary of state. No candidates 
for delegate not thus endorsed shall have their names printed upon the 
ballot in a group, but such candidates must appear as individuals: And 
further provided, That the name of no candidate shall appear more than 
once on the ballot, and that any candidate whose nomination paper is 
filed in more than one group, or in the same group differently arranged, 
shall have his name printed on the ballot as a part of that group which 
has received the endorsement as herein recited: Provided, That one of 
the groups in which his name occurs has received such endorsement. 

Each candidate for election as delegate to his national party conven¬ 
tion must file with the secretary of state not later than the time of filing 
of the nomination papers containing his name, an affidavit substantially 
as provided in section 5 of the “direct primary law,” and may also in¬ 
clude with his affidavit the statement “I personally prefer-as the 

nominee of my party for president of the United States” (filling in the 
blank by inserting his choice for such nominee). But his failure to 
include such statement shall not be a valid ground on the part of the 
3 



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secretary of state for refusal to receive and file the nomination papers 
containing liis name. 

Sec. 5. The names of the candidates for delegate in any political 
party shall be arranged upon the ballots of such party in parallel 
columns each column standing directly underneath the space headed 
by the words, “For Presidential Nominee/’ and the various candidates 
for delegate appearing in these columns as determined by their preference 
for president, according to the provisions of section 4 of this act. The 
left-hand column shall be headed in heavy face, ten point, gothic type, 
“Candidate Preferring-” (the blank being filled out by the sur¬ 

name of the first candidate for presidential nominee on the ballot, as 
determined by section 2 of this act). The second column shall be simi¬ 
larly headed, except that the surname of the candidate for presidential 
nominee shall be for the name second in the list of candidates for presi¬ 
dential nominee, and so on for as many candidates for presidential nomi¬ 
nee as are printed at the top of the ballot in the list of such candidates. 
To the right of the last column headed by the surname of a candidate 
for presidential nominee shall be a column headed “No Preference 
Column,” in which shall appear the names of all candidates for delegate 
who have expressed no preference for presidential nominee or who have 
expressed a preference for a candidate for presidential nominee other 
than the candidates for presidential nominee printed at the top of the 
ballot. Above this “No Preference Column,” neither the words “For 
Presidential Nominee,” nor the space for the name of such nominee shall 
appear. To the right of this last column shall be a column headed 
“Blank Column,” which shall contain as many blank spaces as there are 
delegates to be elected by the political party concerned. In case that 
there are no names of candidates for delegate to be placed in a “No 
Preference Column,” such “No Preference Column” shall be omitted from 
the ballot, and the “Blank Column” as herein provided for shall be placed 
to the right of and contiguous to the last column headed by the surname 
of a candidate for presidential nominee. In the event that two or more 
candidates for presidential nominee whose names are printed upon the 
same ballot have the same surname, the distinguishing names or initials 
of such candidates shall be prefixed to their respective surnames on said 
ballot, following the words “Candidates Preferring.” 

The names of the various candidates for delegate shall be printed in 
eight point, roman capital type, under their respective preferences for 
presidential nominee or in the no preference column, as heretofore pro¬ 
vided in this act. The names of each group on the ballot shall be num¬ 
bered in heavy face, eight point type. The order of names for each 
column upon the ballot shall be the same as the order in which such 
names were filed with the secretary of state: Provided, That above the 
individual names in each column shall appear the group of names, if 
any, which has received the endorsement referred to in section 4 of this 
act. 

A blank column one-half inch wide shall be left upon the ballot op¬ 
posite each group of names and to the right of the column of voting 
squares for the individual names and separated from it by a light dotted 
line, which blank column shall contain a square in which may be stamped 
a cross (X) which shall be counted as a vote for each and every name 
in the group opposite. Lengthwise along this blank column shall be 



9 


printed “A cross (X) stamped in this square shall be counted for each 
name of the group to the left.” The line separating any name from any 
other name not in a group or from any group of names shall be heavier 
than any line separating the individual names in such group, and shall 
extend across the blank column provided for in this paragraph. Below 
the top line of this extension shall be printed in small heavy face type 
the words “top of group,” and above the bottom line of the extension, 
the words “end of group.” 

Sec. G. Each candidate for election as delegate to his national party 
convention may include with his affidavit the statement hereinafter set 
forth in this section; but his failure to include such statement shall not 
be a valid ground on the part of the secretary of state for refusal to 
receive and file his nomination paper or papers. 

Such statement, if any be made, shall be in substantially the follow¬ 
ing form: 

delegate's statement. 

I hereby declare to the voters of my political party in the State of 
California that if elected as delegate to their national party convention, 
I shall, to the best of my judgment and ability, support that candidate 
for president of the United States who shall have received the highest 
number of votes cast throughout the entire state by the voters of my 
party for said office, at the May presidential primary election. 


Signature of candidate for delegate. 

Sec. 7. The delegates to each national party convention elected at 
the May presidential primary election, shall, before leaving the state 
to attend the convention, meet together and select alternates to the con¬ 
vention. The number of alternates to be selected shall be no greater than 
one for each delegate, and each alternate must be selected from the con¬ 
gressional district of the delegate for whom he is an alternate; and the 
method of selection shall be as determined upon by the majority of the 
whole number of delegates who have been elected to the convention. 
The duties of an alternate shall be those usually appertaining to that 
position, and as prescribed by each party in the call for its national 
convention. The alternate of any such delegate as may be unable to 
attend the convention, shall attend the convention in his place, and 
shall otherwise discharge the duties of said delegate. 

Sec. 8. For purposes of the May presidential primary election, the 
original affidavits of registration and indexes used in the last general 
election in any county or city and county in this state may be used, to¬ 
gether with the original affidavits of registration since the last election, 
and supplemental indexes, showing all additional registrations, changes 
and corrections made since the registration for the last general election, 
completed to and including the thirty-first day prior to said May presi¬ 
dential primary election, which shall be the last day on which any per¬ 
son may register or transfer registration so as to entitle said person to 
a vote at such primary. Any person registered in accordance with the 
provisions of this section, and who has stated his political affiliation in 
accordance with section 109G of the Political Code, shall be qualified 
to vote at such election, and shall receive the ticket of that political 
party only with which he has declared himself affiliated. Any person 



10 


qualified by the provisions of this section to vote at any May presiden¬ 
tial primary election shall also be qualified to sign the nomination papers 
of anv person to be voted upon at such primary election. 

Sec. 9. The ballot to be used at the May presidential primary elec¬ 
tion shall be prepared according to the provisions of sections 2, 4 and 
5 of this act, and also according to such provisions of section 12 of the 
“direct primary law” as are applicable to this act and not in conflict 
with its provisions : Provided, That the words at the top of the ballot 
shall be “Official Presidential Primary Election Ballot,” and that the 
instructions to voters shall be as follows: To vote for a person whose 
name appears on the ballot, stamp a cross (X) in the square at the right 
of the name of the person for whom you desire to vote; or if you wish 
to vote for all of a group of persons, stamp a cross (X) in the square 
opposite such group, which cross shall be counted for each name of the 
group. A group consists of candidates for delegate nominated on the 
same nomination paper. To vote for a person whose name is not printed 
on the ballot, write his name in the blank space provided for that pur¬ 
pose. There shall be printed in heavy face, twelve point, gothic type, 
across the page above the column of candidates for delegates, the words, 

“For Delegates to National Convention Vote for-, either as 

individuals or by group, but do not vote for more than-” (the 

blanks being filled in by the number of delegates to be elected by the 
political party concerned). 

The ballot shall be printed substantially in the following form:* 

Sec. 10. Accompanying the sample ballot for the May presidential 
primary election mailed to the voters of each political party, there shall 
be included for such party a sheet with the following title in twenty- 
four point capital type, biographical sketches of presidential candidates. 
Under this heading there shall appear in twelve point capital type the 
name of each candidate of such party for nomination for president for 
whom a biographical sketch is furnished, and below such name shall be 
printed in ten point type the biography of such candidate in no more 
than three hundred words. The biographical sketch of each candidate 
for presidential nomination shall be furnished by such candidate or by 
such state political organization created in support of his candidacy as 
shall not be repudiated by him in lacking authority to furnish such 
biographical sketch. Such biographical sketch shall be sent to the sec¬ 
retary of state together with the sum of two hundred dollars to defray 
the cost of its publication, at least forty days prior to the date of the 
May presidential primary election, and it shall be printed at the state 
printing office and sent to the county clerks or registrars of voters to 
be mailed with the sample ballots as aforesaid. The biographical 
sketches of all the candidates for presidential nomination of any party 
who appear upon the ballot of such party, and none other, shall be 
printed upon the same sheet, and shall appear in the same order as they 
appear upon the ballot. The sheet mailed to the voters by the county 
clerks or registrars of voters shall be the one which contains the biog¬ 
raphies of such candidates for presidential nomination as appear upon 
the ballots mailed to the voters in the same envelope and no other sheet 

* (Copy of ballot on file in Legislative Deference Department, Michi¬ 
gan State Library.) 





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shall be mailed. In the case of any political party for none of whose 
candidates any biographical sketch has been furnished, no sheet as here¬ 
inbefore provided shall be prepared or mailed. 

Sec. 11. The provisions of the direct primary law as amended by the 
legislature of the State of California at its special session commencing 
on the twenty-seventh day of November, 1911, shall govern the May presi¬ 
dential primary election in so far as said provisions are applicable to 
said election and are not inconsistent with or in conflict with the pro¬ 
visions of this act. 

Sec. 12. The first election under the provisions of this act is hereby 
called for, and shall be held throughout the State of California, on Tues¬ 
day, the fourteenth day of May, 1912. It shall be the duty of the sec¬ 
retary of state and the attorney general to prepare, on or before the 
first day of February, 1912, all forms necessary to carry out the provi¬ 
sions of this act, which forms shall be substantially followed in all presi¬ 
dential primary elections held in pursuance hereof. 

Sec. 13. This act shall be known as the Presidential Primary Act. 

Sec. 14. This act, inasmuch as it calls an election and provides the 
procedure therefor, shall, under the provisions of article IV, section 1 
of the constitution, take effect immediately. 

Sec. 15. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with or in conflict 
with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. 


NEBRASKA. 

Laws of 1911. 

CHAPTER 46. 

Section 5864. (Primaries, When and Where Held.) There shall 
be a primary election held at the regular polling place in each precinct 
on the third Tuesday in August, 1911, and annually thereafter, for the 
nomination of all candidates, except those exempted from the provisions 
of this act, to be voted for at the November election; also for a preference 
vote for United States senator whenever such senator is to be elected 
by the legislature at the next session thereof; a preference vote for presi¬ 
dent and vice-president of the United States in the year 1912 and every 
four years thereafter. In years that a president and vice-president are 
to be elected there shall be elected delegates to the national conventions 
and members of the national committee of the several parties: Provided, 
That in the year 1912 and every four years thereafter, said primary elec¬ 
tion shall be held on the forty-fifth day before the first Monday in June, 
and said day shall be: the first day of registration of voters in all cities 
where registration is required. All officers whose nomination is pro¬ 
vided for in this act shall, in the years for the election of president and 
vice-president, be nominated at the primary to be held on the forty-fifth 
day before the first Monday in June, instead of at the August primary 
elections, and all laws relating to the nomination of candidates, at the 
August primary election shall apply to the primary election hereby pro¬ 
vided for. Any primary other than those provided for above shall be 
held on Tuesday, four weeks before the election, except in cities of the 
metropolitan class, and cities of the first class having over twenty-five 


12 


thousand inhabitants, wherein it shall be held on Tuesday, five weeks 
before the day of election. 

Section la. Delegates to the national conventions shall be elected as 
follows: Four delegates shall be elected by the voters of the state at 
large; the remainder of the delegates shall be equally divided between 
the various congressional districts in the state, and the district delegates 
shall be elected by the voters of the various congressional districts in 
the state. Nominating petitions for delegates at large to national con¬ 
ventions and for members of national committees, shall contain the 
names of not less than five hundred electors of each congressional dis¬ 
trict of the party which such delegates and committeemen are to repre¬ 
sent; and nominations for delegates to national conventions from con¬ 
gressional districts shall be sufficient if signed by five hundred (500) 
electors of the party which such delegates are to represent: Provided, 
That petitions of district delegates shall be signed by electors residing 
in at least two-thirds of the counties of said district: Provided, how¬ 
ever, That in no case shall more than five per cent of the total vote of 
any political party in the state or in any congressional district be re¬ 
quired to sign the petitions referred to in this section. 

Section lb. When candidates for offices of president and vice-presi¬ 
dent of the United States are to be nominated, every qualified elector 
of a political party subject to this act shall have opportunity to vote 
his preference, on liis party nominating ballot, for his choice for one per¬ 
son to be the candidate of his political party for president and one per¬ 
son to be the candidate of his political party for vice-president of the 
United States; either by writing the names of such persons in blank 
spaces to be left in said ballot for that purpose, or by marking with a 
cross opposite the printed names of the persons of his choice, as in the 
case of other nominations. The names of any person shall be so printed 
on said ballot solely on the petition of their political supporters in 
Nebraska, without such persons themselves signing any petition or ac¬ 
ceptance. The names of persons in such political party who shall be 
represented by petition of their supporters to be party candidates for 
president and vice-president of the United States shall be printed on the 
nominating ballot, and the ballots shall be marked, and the votes shall 
be counted, canvassed and returned in like manner and under the same 
conditions as to names, petitions and other matters, as far as the same 
are applicable, as the names and petitions of aspirants for the party 
nominations for the office of governor are now or may be by law required 
to be marked, filed, counted, canvassed and returned. 

Section lc. The secretary of state shall grant certificates of election 
to persons elected as members of the national committee and as delegates 
to national conventions of the several parties subject to the provisions 
of this act which certificates shall show the number of votes received 
in the state by each person of such delegate’s political party for nomi¬ 
nation as its candidates for president and vice-president. 


13 


NEW JERSEY. 

LaAvs of 1911. 

CHAPTER 183. 

A supplement to an act, entitled “An act to regulate elections (re¬ 
vision of 1898)approved April 4, 1898. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New 
Jersey: 

III. 

Sec. 12. All delegates and alternates to the national convention of the 
political parties before mentioned in this state shall be chosen at pri¬ 
mary elections as hereafter provided7 

Sec. 13. The chairman of the state committee of said political parties 
shall notify the secretary of state, on or before the fifteenth day of April 
in the year in which a president of the United States is to be elected, 
of the number of delegates at large, and the number of alternates at 
large, to be elected to the next national convention of his party, by the 
voters of the party throughout the state, and also the number of dele¬ 
gates and the alternates who are chosen to said national convention in 
the respective congressional districts or other territorial subdivisions of 
the state, as mentioned in said notification. If the state chairman, or 
either of them, shall fail to file such notice, it shall be the duty of the 
secretary of state to ascertain the said facts from the call for said na¬ 
tional convention issued by the national committee of said party. 

Sec. 14. The secretary of state shall, on or before the twentieth day 
of April in such year, certify to the county clerk of each county in this 
state the number of delegates and alternates at large to be chosen by 
each party as aforesaid, and the number of delegates and alternates to 
be chosen in each congressional district or other territorial subdmsion 
of the state composed in whole or in part of the county of such county 
clerk. 

Sec. 15. Not less than one hundred members of either of said political 
parties may file with the secretary of state, on or before the first day of 
May in any year of a presidential election, a petition requesting that 
the name of the therein endorsed shall be printed on the primary ticket 
of their political party as candidate for the position of delegate at large 
or alternate at large, to be chosen by the party voters throughout the 
state to the national convention of said party, or as a delegate or alter¬ 
nate to be chosen to said convention by the voters of any congressional 
district or other territorial subdivision of the state larger than a county. 
The signers to the petition for any delegate at large or alternate at large 
shall be legal voters resident in the state, and the signers for any dele¬ 
gate or alternate from any congressional district or subdivision greater 
than a single county shall be voters of such district or subdivision. The 
secretary of state shall, within five days thereafter, certify to each county 
clerk in this state said nominations for delegates and alternates at large, 
and the nominations for delegates or alternates for any congressional 
district or other territorial subdivision made up in part of the county of 
such county clerk. 


14 


Sec. 1G. Not less than one hundred voters of either of said political 
parties resident in any congressional district, or other territorial sub¬ 
division of this state, situated within a single county, entitled under 
the call of their party to choose delegates and alternates to the said 
national convention of the party, may file with the county clerk on or 
before the first day of May in any presidential year, a petition request¬ 
ing that the name of the person therein endorsed may be printed on the 
primary ticket of their party as a candidate for the position of delegate 
or alternate for said district or subdivision. 

Sec. 17. Candidates for the position of delegates or alternates may 
be grouped together, and they also may have the name of the candidate 
for president whom they favor placed opposite their individual names, 
or opposite such groups, if they so request in their petitions, under the 
caption “Choice for President.” The said petition shall be as near as 
may be in the form now required by law in the case of petitions for the 
nomination of delegates to state conventions of political parties in this 
state. 

Sec. 18. Each county clerk shall forward, on or before the eighth 
day of May, to the clerk of each municipality in his county a statement 
of the persons whose names are to be printed on the primary ticket of 
each party as candidates for the position of delegates and alternates, 
filed with or certified to him as hereinbefore provided. 

Sec. 19. Said municipal clerk shall cause to be printed official pri¬ 
mary tickets for each political party containing the names of the persons 
for whom the party voters in his municipality are entitled to vote as 
candidates as aforesaid for the position of delegates and alternates to 
the national convention of such party. The form of said ballot shall be 
as near as may be the form authorized in section forty of this act. 

IV. 

Sec. 20. Each of said municipal clerks shall deliver to the clerk of 
each board of registry and election in his municipality, at the office of 
the municipal clerk, on or before Tuesday preceding the day of the pri¬ 
mary as hereinafter provided, the poll book and the primary book made 
up in such election districts at the last preceding general and primary 
elections respectively, and the books and forms for writing down the 
names of voters, making out returns and the affidavits filed with him, 
and generally such things as such clerks are now required by law to 
furnish said boards for use at the annual primary election in September 
of each year, taking receipts therefor from said election clerk, and said 
election clerk shall deliver the same to the board of registry and election 
of which he is clerk in time for use at said primary election. On or 
before the day of the primary said municipal clerk shall also deliver 
to such board, at his office, the ballots and ballot boxes for each party. 
Said municipal clerk shall also procure the places for holding the pri¬ 
mary elections herein provided for, which shall be as near as may be 
the same places used for the primary and general elections held in the 
fall of each year. 

Sec. 21. Said primary election for the choice of said delegates and 
alternates of both political parties shall be held on the fourth Tuesday 
of May in each presidential year, from one to nine p. m. Said primary. 


15 


elections shall be conducted by the members of the boards of registry 
and election, as near as may be in the manner now required by law for 
the conduct of the annual primary elections in September of each year, 
and the provisions of this act and of the act to which this act is a supple¬ 
ment, and of the acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto, shall 
apply as far as may be to the primary election held under this act, except 
as herein otherwise provided. 

Sec. 22. Every voter whose name shall appear on the poll book of 
the last preceding general election in the election district in which he 
offers to vote, or who has been registered by affidavit as hereafter pro¬ 
vided, shall be entitled to vote in the primary of his political party held 
under this act for the election of delegates and alternates to national 
conventions. No person shall be allowed to vote at said primary unless 
his name appears on said poll book, or unless he has been registered by 
affidavit as hereinafter provided, nor shall any voter be allowed to vote 
in the primary of one political party if his name appears in the primary 
book of the other political party as made up at the last preceding pri¬ 
mary election in said election district. 

Sec. 23. Any voter qualified to vote at a general election in this state, 
who did not vote at the general election preceding any primary election 
to be held under this act for the selection of delegates to national con¬ 
ventions, may register for said primary election and be entitled to vote 
thereat, by filing with the municipal clerk of his municipality, at least 
ten days prior to the day of the primary, an affidavit in the form now 
required by law for registering voters for any general election. From 
said poll books and affidavits, and from said primary books, the board 
of registry and election shall make up a primary registry list for said 
primary elections, with the letter “R” or the letter “D” opposite the 
names of those voters whose names appear in said primary books, re¬ 
spectively, and from said list shall be determined the right of each voter 
offering to vote at said primary. It shall be the duty of the municipal 
clerk in each municipality in the state to furnish to each board of 
registry and election in his municipality, at his office, on or before the 
Tuesday preceding said primary election for the selection of delegates 
to the national conventions, a sufficient number of official sample pri¬ 
mary ballots of each party, and a sufficient number of one-cent stamped 
envelopes, to enable the said board to mail one copy of the sample pri¬ 
mary ballot of each party to each voter who has registered for said pri¬ 
mary election, and it shall be the duty of each of said boards to prepare 
and deposit in the postoffice on or before twelve o’clock on Wednesday 
preceding the said primary day, said stamped envelopes containing a 
copy of the sample primary ballot of each political party addressed to 
each voter whose name appears in the said registry list for said primary. 
Each of said boards shall give to the municipal clerk a receipt for the 
said sample ballots and envelopes, signed by one of their members, and 
shall return to said clerk the unused sample ballots and stamped en¬ 
velopes, with a written statement signed by all the members of said 
board, to the effect that the remainder of said sample ballots and en¬ 
velopes were actually mailed or posted as provided in this act. Each of 
said envelopes shall have printed on the face thereof in large type the 
words “Sample Primary Ballot” and in small type the words if not de¬ 
livered in two days return to - (city or town clerk), and said 



1G 


returned envelopes shall be retained by the municipal clerk for thirty 
days open to public inspection. Said sample ballots so mailed shall not 
be voted. 

Sec. 24. The said sample primary ballots shall be as nearly as possible 
a facsimile of the official ballot to be voted at the said primary election, 
and shall be printed on paper different in color from the official primary 
ballot, so that the same may be readily distinguished from the official 
ballot. The sample ballot shall have printed at the top in large type 
the words, “This sample ballot is an exact copy of the ballot to be used 
on primary day. This ballot cannot be voted.” The clerk of the board 
of registry and election shall also post such sample primary ballot in 
the polling place and five other public places in his district. It shall 
be unlawful for any election officer to accept from any voter and de¬ 
posit in the ballot box any sample primary ballot. 

Sec. 25. Each board of registry and election shall count and canvass 
the returns of said primary election at the close thereof, and forthwith 
deliver said returns, boxes, poll books of the preceding general election, 
affidavits, primary books, and list of voters voting in each primary, to 
the municipal clerk. Said clerk shall forthwith certify to the county 
clerk the result of the returns so filed with him. The county clerk shall 
ascertain from said certificates the persons who have received the highest 
number of votes for delegates and alternates to the national convention 
of each party, in the territorial division situated wholly within said 
county, and shall issue to such persons a certificate certifying to the 
fact of their selection as aforesaid. Said county clerk shall also forth¬ 
with forward to the secretary of state a statement showing the number 
of votes cast for each candidate for delegate or alternate to be chosen 
by the voters of each party throughout the state, or from the congres¬ 
sional or other territorial district larger than a single county, of which 
said county is a part. The secretary of state shall forthwith ascertain 
from said statements the persons in each party who have received the 
highest number of votes for delegates at large, alternates at large, and 
delegates and alternates chosen in each congressional or other territorial 
district larger than a single county, and shall forthwith issue to each of 
such persons a certificate certifying that said persons have been duly 
chosen as such delegates and alternates respectively. The persons re¬ 
ceiving such certificates from the secretary of state, or any of the county 
clerks, shall be deemed to be chosen at said primary ejection as sucii 
delegates and alternates, respectively. 

V. 

Sec. 20. It shall be lawful for not less than one thousand voters of 
any political party in this state to file a petition with the secretary of 
state, on or before the first day of April in any year in which a president 
of the United States is to be chosen, requesting that the name of the 
person endorsed in said petition as a candidate of the said party for the 
office of the president of the United States shall be printed upon the 
official ballot of said party for the then ensuing election for delegates to 
the national convention of said party. Said petition shall be" in the 
form required by law for the endorsement of a candidate for United 
States senator, but it shall not be necessary to have the consent of such 


17 


candidate for president endorsed on said petition; all the names need 
not be signed to the same original petition, but copies thereof may be 
made to which signatures may be attached, but every petition shall have 
annexed the affidavit of one or more of the signers that the other signers 
to the said petition signed the same in good faith for the purpose therein 
mentioned. The secretary of state shall certify the names so filed in his 
office to the county clerk of each county on or before the twenty-fifth day 
of April, and such county clerk shall forthwith certify the same to the 
municipal clerk of each municipality in his county on or before the 
twenty-ninth day of April, and the said municipal clerk shall cause said 
names so certified to be printed upon the primary tickets of the respec¬ 
tive political parties for use at the next ensuing primary election for 
the election of delegates to the national convention of said parties under 
the heading “Choice for President.*’ The voters at such primary election 
may indicate their preference among the candidates for president, whose 
names thus appear upon the ticket, by making a cross in the square at 
the right thereof. The votes so cast for such candidates for president 
shall be counted, canvassed and returned to the municipal clerk by the 
board of registry and elections, and shall be certified by such municipal 
clerk forthwith to the county clerk, who in turn shall forthwith certify 
them to the secretary of state, and the secretary of state shall publicly 
announce the vote cast for each candidate for president in each party, 
as shown by the said returns so filed in his office. In the event that any 
candidate for nomination, who is thus endorsed in a petition filed in 
the secretary of state’s office, shall on or before the twenty-fifth day of 
April decline in writing, filed in the office of the secretary of state, to 
have his name printed upon said primary ticket, the said secretary of 
state shall not certify the name of such candidate to the respective county 
clerks. 


NORTH DAKOTA. 

Laws of 1911. 

CHAPTER 208. 

An Act to provide for the expression by the qualified voters of the sev¬ 
eral political parties of their choice for nomination by their party for 
president and vice-president of the United States; to provide for and 
regulate direct primary election for the election of said political 
party’s delegates to their respective national conventions, fixing a time 
for said election and harmonizing therewith the time of city elections 
every presidential year, and for the payment of delegates’ necessary 
expenses, not exceeding $200 each, for the election of party candidates 
for the office of presidential elector, and for the election of national 
committeemen. 

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of North Dakota: 

1. In the presidential election years, the qualified electors 
of the political parties subject to this law shall have opportunity to 
vote for their preference, on ballots provided for that purpose, for 
their choice among those aspiring to be candidates of their respective 
parties for president and vice-president of the United States, shall have 


18 


their party delegates to their national conventions, their presidential 
electors, and shall nominate and recommend their choice for national 
committeemen. The names of the aspirants in each such party for elec¬ 
tion for the office of president, for office of vice-president of the United 
States, for national committeemen, for delegates to their national con¬ 
vention, and for presidential electors, shall be printed on the party nomi¬ 
nating ballot provided for that purpose, and the ballot shall be marked 
and the votes shall be counted, canvassed and returned under the same 
conditions as to names, petitions and other matters so far as the same 
are applicable, as the names and petitions of party aspirants for the 
party nominations for the office of governor and of the United States 
senator in congress are, or may be by law required to be marked, filed, 
counted, canvassed and returned: Provided, That aspirants for such 
presidential nominations need not file any personal petition nor signa¬ 
ture ; that certificates of the number of votes received by each such can¬ 
didate shall be issued to the delegates who are elected for said party 
to the party national convention; that petitions to place on the nomi¬ 
nation ballot the names and aspirants for such office or delegates to said 
national convention, presidential elector and national committeemen to 
be chosen and elected, as provided herein, shall be sufficient if they con¬ 
tain a number equal to one per cent of the party vote in the state at 
the next preceding election for representatives in congress, or not less 
than five hundred signatures of party voters. Every qualified voter shall 
have the right to vote for as many candidates for national delegates for 
his party and for the election of as many candidates for presidential 
electors as there are delegates and electors to be elected respectively, and 
each elector shall have a right to vote for one candidate of his party for 
national committeeman. A number of such candidates equal to the 
number of delegates to be elected and the number of presidential electors 
to be elected and the candidate for national committeeman, receiving, 
respectively, each for himself, the highest number of votes for such office 
or nomination, shall be declared elected. 

2. On the eighth day after the election provided for herein, the 
county canvassing board shall meet as provided in section 582 of the 
revised code of 1905, and shall canvass the returns in the manner now 
provided by law. The powers and duties of the board shall be the same 
in so far as applicable, as now are prescribed by law for canvassing the 
returns of other elections. 

3. For the purpose of ascertaining the results of the election pro¬ 
vided for in this act, the state canvassing board shall meet at the office 
of the secretary of state on the first Tuesday in May after such election 
and the secretary of state shall notify the other members of the board of 
canvassers of such meeting. 

4. All persons desiring to be candidates for delegates to the 
national convention of their party and all persons desiring to be candi¬ 
dates for presidential electors and for national committeemen of their 
party shall, not later than the first day of March of each year, when a 
presidential election will take place, file with the secretary of state their 
petitions, as provided herein. 

5. It shall be the duty of the secretary of state immediately 
after the first day of March of each year in which a presidential election 
will take place to prepare and print ballots, at the expense of the state, 


19 


( 


with the names of all candidates of each party for the offices named in 
this act. In printing such ballots the secretary of state shall be guided 
by the provisions of law now in force relating to the preparation and 
printing of ballots for general elections. The provisions of the general 
election law applicable relating to the distribution of ballots, posting 
of sample ballots and of notices of the election shall apply to the dis¬ 
tribution of ballots, posting of sample ballots and of notices of the elec¬ 
tion herein provided for, except as otherwise required herein. The sec¬ 
retary of state shall distribute the ballots among the county auditors, 
who in turn must deliver the same to the inspectors of election in the 
voting precincts of their respective counties. Notices of the election pro¬ 
vided for .herein shall be given in the manner prescribed by law for giv¬ 
ing notices of city, village and township elections in such cities, villages 
and townships and in any other precincts, notice of the election shall 
be given as now provided by law for general elections. 

6. On the third Tuesday of March every fourth year, when a 
presidential election is to be held, the members of the respective political 
parties shall express their choice for the election of the persons and offi¬ 
cers named in this act, and whose names appear upon the ballot accord¬ 
ing to the provisions herein. Each elector shall be handed the ballot 
of the party with which he declares himself affiliated, or with which he 
may have registered at the last preceding registration or election, and 
such elector shall mark and vote the same in the manner provided herein. 
The polls shall be opened the same hours as at general elections. For 
the purposes of the election herein provided for, in all cities, villages 
and civil townships the regular election officers thereof shall also act 
without further compensation as the election officers, and in unorganized 
townships and voting precincts outside of cities, villages and civil town¬ 
ships, the inspector and two judges of election, who acted as such at the 
last general election, or those who have been or may be appointed to 
fill such vacancies occurring in their offices, pursuant to law, shall act 
therein as the inspector and judges of election. In all matters not 
herein expressly otherwise provided for the provisions of any election 
law of this state, applicable to the case, shall govern. In every fourth 
year when a presidential election is held, the time of all city elections 
shall take place on the third Tuesday in March so as to conform to the 
provisions of this act, and in such event the city officers elected to office 
shall have until the second Tuesday of April in which to qualify for such 
office. 

7. Every delegate to a national convention of a political party 
recognized as such organization by the laws of North Dakota, shall re¬ 
ceive from the state treasurer the amount of his actual necessary travel¬ 
ing expenses, as his account may be audited and allowed by the secre¬ 
tary of state or state auditor, for actual attendance upon said conven¬ 
tion, but not in any case to exceed two hundred dollars for one delegate. 
The election of such national delegates for political parties are not sub¬ 
ject to the direct primary law shall be certified in like manner as nomi¬ 
nations of candidates of such parties for election to public office. Every 
such delegate to a national convention which nominated candidates for 
president and vice-president shall subscribe an oath of office that he will 
uphold the constitution and the laws of the United States and North 
Dakota, and that he will, as such officer and delegate, to the best of his 


20 


judgment and ability, faithfully carry out the wishes of his political 
party as expressed by the voters at said election. 

8. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with any of the provisions 
of this act are hereby repealed. Approved March 6, 1911. 


OREGON. 

Laws of 1911. 

CHAPTER 5. 

An Act. to amend section 2 of the direct primary nominating elections 
law which was proposed by initiative petition and approved by the 
people of Oregon at the general election in June, 1904, and printed 
in the volume of the General Laws of Oregon for the year 1905, at 
pages T to 50 thereof; to provide for the expression by the qualified 
voters of the several political parties subject to the said direct pri¬ 
mary law, of their choice for nomination by their party for president 
and vice-president of the United States; to provide for and regulate 
direct primary nominating elections for the election of said political 
parties’ delegates to their respective national conventions, and for the 
payment of such delegates’ necessary expenses, not exceeding two 
hundred dollars for any delegate; for the nomination of party candi¬ 
dates for the office of presidential elector; for space in the party and 
state campaign books to set forth the merits of aspirants for election 
and for nomination, and of candidates for the offices of president and 
vice-president of the United States, of candidates for offices to be voted 
for in the state at large, and of candidates for United States senators 
and representatives in congress. 

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Oregon: 

Section 1. That section 2 of the direct primary nominating elections 
law, which was proposed by initiative petition and enacted by the people 
of Oregon at the general election in June, 1904, as the same is printed 
in the volume of the General Laws of Oregon for the year 1905, at pages 
7 to 50 thereof, be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows: 

Sec. 2. On the forty-fifth day, preceding any election (except special 
elections to fill vacancies, presidential elections, municipal elections in 
towns or cities having a population of less than two thousand, and school 
elections) at which public officers in this state, and in any district or 
county, and in any city having a population of two thousand or more 
at which public officers are to be elected, except as provided in section 
6 of this law as to time in certain cities and towns, a primary nomi¬ 
nating election shall be held in accordance with this law in the several 
election precincts comprised within the territory for which such officers 
are to be elected at the ensuing election, which shall be known as the 
primary nominating election, for the purpose of choosing candidates by 
the political parties, subject to the provisions of this law, for senator in 
congress and all other elective state, district, county, precinct, city, ward 
and all other officers, and delegates to any constitutional convention or 
conventions that may hereafter be called, who are to be chosen at the 
ensuing election wholly by electors within this state or any subdivision 


21 


of this state, and also for choosing and electing the county central com¬ 
mitteemen by the several parties subject to the provisions of this law: 
Provided: 

(a) In the years when a president and vice-president of the United 
States are to be elected, said primary nominating election shall be held 
on the forty-fifth day before the first Monday in June of said year, and 
all laws pertaining to the nomination of candidates, registration of 
voters and all other things incident and pertaining to the holding of 
the regular biennial nominating election, shall be enforced and effected 
the same number of days before the first Monday in June that they were 
under the said nominating election law immediately before the change 
in the date of the regular election from the first Monday in June to the 
first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 

(b) When candidates for the offices of president and vice-president 
of the United States are to be nominated, every qualified elector of a 
political party subject to this law shall have opportunity to vote his 
preference, on his party nominating ballot, for his choice for one person 
to be the candidate of his political party for president, and one person 
to be the candidate of his political party for vice-president of the United 
States, either by writing the names of such persons in blank spaces to 
be left on said ballot for that purpose, or by marking with a cross before 
the printed names of the persons of his choice, as in the case of other 
nominations. The names of any persons shall be so printed on said bal¬ 
lots solely on the petition of their political supporters in Oregon, with¬ 
out such persons themselves signing any petition, signature or accept¬ 
ance. The names of persons in such political party who shall be pre¬ 
sented by petition of their supporters for nomination to be party can¬ 
didates for the office of president or vice-president of the United States, 
shall be printed on the nominating official ballot, and the ballots shall 
be marked and the votes shall be counted, canvassed and returned in 
like manner and under the same conditions as to names, petitions and 
other matters, as far as the same are applicable, as the names and peti¬ 
tions of aspirants for the party nominations for the office of governor 
and for United States senator in congress are or may be by law required 
to be marked, filed, counted, canvassed and returned. 

(c) The members of the political parties subject to this law shall elect 
their party delegates to their national conventions for the nomination 
of their party candidates for president and vice-president of the United 
States, and shall nominate candidates for their party presidential elect¬ 
ors at such nominating election. The governor shall grant a certificate 
of election to each of the delegates so elected, which certificates shall 
show the number of votes received in the state by each person of such 
delegate’s political party for nomination as its candidate for president 
and vice-president. Nominating petitions for the office of delegate to the 
respective party national conventions, to be chosen and elected at said 
nominating election, shall be sufficient if they contain a number of sig¬ 
natures of the members of the party equal to one per cent of the party 
vote in the state at the last preceding election for representative in con¬ 
gress, provided that not more than five hundred signatures shall be re¬ 
quired on any such petition. Every qualified voter shall have the right 
at such nominating election to vote for the election of one person and 
no more to the office of national delegate for his party, and to vote for 


22 


the nomination of one aspirant and no more for the office of presidential 
elector as the candidate of his party. A number of such candidates equal 
to the number of delegates to be elected by each party which is subject 
to the provisions of this law, receiving, respectively, each for himself, 
the highest number of votes for such office, shall be thereby elected. 
Every political party subject to the provisions of this law shall be entitled 
to nominate, at said nominating election, as many candidates for the 
office of presidential elector as there are such officers to be elected; that 
number of aspirants in every such party who shall receive, respectively, 
each for himself the highest number of votes of his party for that nomi¬ 
nation shall be thereby nominated, as a candidate of his political party 
for the office of presidential elector. 

(d) Every delegate to a national convention of a political party 
recognized as such organization by the laws of Oregon, shall receive from 
the state treasury the amount of his traveling expenses necessarily spent 
in actual attendance upon said convention as his account may be audited 
and allowed by the secretary of state, but in no case to exceed two hun¬ 
dred dollars for each delegate: Provided, That such expenses shall never 
be paid to any greater number of delegates of any political party than 
would be allowed such party under the plan by whicli the number of 
delegates to the Republican national convention was fixed for the Re¬ 
publican party of Oregon in the year 1008. The election of such national 
delegates for political parties not subject to the direct primary nomi¬ 
nating elections law shall be certified in like manner as nominations of 
candidates of such political parties for elective public offices. Every 
such delegate to a national convention to nominate candidates for presi¬ 
dent and vice-president, shall subscribe an oath of office that he will 
uphold the constitution and laws of the United States and of the State 
of Oregon, and that he will, as such officer and delegate, to the best of 
his judgment and ability faithfully carry out the wishes of his political 
party as expressed by its voters at the time of his election. 

(e) The committee or organization which shall file a petition to place 
the name of any person on the nominating ballot of their political party 
to be voted for by its members for expression of their choice for nomi¬ 
nation as the candidate for such party for president or vice-president of 
the United States, shall have the right, upon payment therefor, to four 
pages of printed space in the campaign books of such political party 
provided for by sections 4 and 5 of the law proposed by initiative peti¬ 
tion and enacted by the people of Oregon at the general election in June, 
1908, entitled “A bill to propose by initiative petition a law to limit 
candidates’ election expenses; to define, prevent and punish corrupt and 
illegal practices in nominations and elections; to secure and protect the 
purity of the ballot; to amend section 2775 of Bellinger and Cotton’s 
Annotated Codes and Statutes of Oregon; to provide for furnishing in¬ 
formation to the electors and to provide the manner of conducting con¬ 
tests for nominations and elections in certain cases,” as printed on pages 
15 to 38 of the General Laws of Oregon for the year 1909. In this space 
said committee shall set forth their statement of the reasons why such 
person should be voted for and chosen by the members of their party in 
Oregon and in the nation as its candidate. Any qualified elector of any 
such political party who favors or opposes the nomination of any person 
by his own political party as its candidate for president or vice-president 


23 


of the United States, may have not exceeding four pages of space in 
his aforesaid party nominating campaign book, at a cost of one hun¬ 
dred dollars per printed page, to set forth his reasons therefor. 

(f) Every person regularly nominated by a political party, recognized 
as such by the laws of Oregon, for president or vice-president of the 
United States, or for any office to be voted for by the electors of the state 
at large, or for senator or representative in congress shall be entitled to 
• use four pages of printed space in the state campaign book provided 
for by sections 6 and 7 of the above entitled “law to limit candidates’ 
election expenses; to define, prevent and punish corrupt and illegal prac¬ 
tices in nominations and elections; to secure and protect the purity of 
the ballot;- to amend section 2775 of Bellinger and Cotton’s Annotated 
Codes and Statutes of Oregon; to provide for furnishing information 
to the electors and to provide the manner of conducting contests for 
nominations and elections in certain cases,” as printed on pages 15 to 
38 of the volume of the General Laws of Oregon for 1909. In this space, 
the candidate, or his supporters with his written permission filed with 
the secretary of state, may set forth the reasons why he should be elected. 
No charge shall be made against candidates for president and vice-presi¬ 
dent of the United States for this printed space. The other candidates 
above named shall pay at the rate of one hundred dollars per printed 
page for said space, and said payment shall not be counted as a part 
of the ten per cent of one year’s salary that each candidate is allowed 
to spend for campaign purposes. If this bill shall be approved by the 
people the Title of the bill shall stand as the title of the law. 


SOUTH DAKOTA. 

Laws of 1911. 

CHAPTER 201. 

Sec. 24. Hereafter all party candidates for all the elective congres¬ 
sional, state, county, legislative and district offices, and for the office 
of United States senator and presidential electors, and all party dele¬ 
gates and alternate delegates to the national conventions and all pre¬ 
cinct, county, state and national committeemen, party state chairman 
and majority and minority proposal committeemen shall be nominated, 
and party representatives selected, at the primary held in accordance 
with the provisions of this act. All other proposals of such candidates 
shall be by petition in the manner now provided by law. 

Sec. 45" Party presidential electors and delegates and alternate dele¬ 
gates to national political party convention shall be chosen by each po¬ 
litical party at the March primary, quadrennially: Provided, however, 
That in order to save time in issuing credentials to such delegates the 
county canvassing boards immediately upon canvassing the votes for 
delegates to the national convention, shall forward to the proper party 
chairman of the party state committee an abstract showing the vote 
cast for the candidates for delegates and alternates in the several coun¬ 
ties of the state, and such state chairman and the secretary of said com¬ 
mittee shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to canvass the 
same and to issue credentials to the delegates and alternates who have 
received the highest number of votes in the state. 


24 


WISCONSIN. 

Law Relating to Election of Delegates to National Convention; Direct 
Vote for Presidential Candidates; Nomination of Presidential 

Electors. 

(Ch. 369, 1905, as amended by cb. 512, 1907, ch. 483, 1909, ch. 300, 1911.) 

Election, when held. Section 11-26. 1. There shall be chosen at an 

election held in each precinct of the state on the first Tuesday of April 
in each year in which electors for president and vice-president of the 
United States are to be elected, delegates to the national convention of 
each party, to nominate candidates for president and vice-president. 

How conducted; expenses. 2. Except as herein otherwise provided, 
such elections shall be noticed, held and conducted and the results can¬ 
vassed and returned in the same manner that elections of judges of the 
supreme and circuit courts are noticed, held and conducted and the re¬ 
sults canvassed and returned. The expense incurred in the preparation 
for or conducting such election shall be paid in the same manner and 
by the same officers as in the case of said judicial elections. 

Delegates at large; election. 3. The four candidates for delegates at 
large of each political party, receiving the highest number of votes, shall 
be the delegates at large. 

District delegates; election. 4. The two candidates for delegates of 
each political party, in each congressional district, receiving the highest 
number of votes shall be delegates from such district. 

Alternates, chosen by state central committee. 5. It shall be the duty 
of the state central committee of each political party between the hold¬ 
ing of such election and at least fifteen days prior to the holding of 
the party national convention, to meet and elect four alternate dele¬ 
gates at large and two alternate delegates from each congressional dis¬ 
trict. Said meeting shall be called by the chairman of the party state 
central committee, upon at least ten days’ notice. 

Names of candidates for president and vice-president may be placed 
on ballot. 6. For the purpose of enabling every voter to express his 
choice for the nomination of candidates for president and vice-president 
of the United States, whenever there shall be filed with the secretary of 
state a petition as provided by section 30 of the statutes, the names of 
such candidates shall be certified to the county clerks, and shall be 
printed upon the official party ticket used at said election. No signa¬ 
ture, statement, or consent shall be required to be filed by any such can¬ 
didate. 

Delegates, how nominated. Section 11-27. 1. Nominations for can¬ 

didates for delegates shall be made by nomination papers, in the manner 
provided by law for nomination of candidates to be voted for at a general 
election. 

Nomination papers, filing. 2. No political party shall be entitled to 
participate in the election of delegates unless nomination papers have 
been filed with the secretary of state as provided herein. 

Official ballot; form. Section 11-28. la. An official ballot shall be 
printed and provided for use at each voting precinct in the form pro¬ 
vided herein and annexed hereto. The names of all candidates for dele- 


25 


gates for whom nomination papers prescribed shall have been duly filed, 
shall be printed thereon. 

b. The names of the candidates for president and vice-president shall 
be placed first, in each party column underneath the party designation 
and immediately above the names of said candidates, respectively, shall 
appear the words, “for president,” “for vice-president.” 

Arrangement of party tickets. 2. Said official ballot shall be made 
up of the several party tickets, arranged alphabetically according to 
party name, all of which shall be securely fastened together at the top 
and folded, provided that there shall be as many separate tickets as there 
are parties entitled to participate in said election. 

Names, rotated. 3. The names of all candidates shall be arranged 
alphabetically according to surname under the appropriate title and 
under the proper party designation upon the party ticket and rotated 
in accordance with the provisions of section 33 of the statutes as amended 
by this act. 

How voted; separate ballot box. 4. After preparing his ballot, the 
elector shall detach the same from the remaining tickets and fold it so 
that its face will be concealed and the printed endorsements and signa¬ 
tures or initials thereon seen. The remaining tickets attached together 
shall be folded in like manner by the elector who shall thereupon, with¬ 
out leaving the polling place, vote the marked ballot forthwith and de¬ 
posit the remaining tickets in a separate ballot box to be marked and 
designated as the blank ballot box. 

Tickets, destroyed, 5. Immediately after the canvass the inspectors 
shall, without examination, destroy the tickets deposited in the blank 
ballot box. 

Defective votes. 6. Whenever any elector shall vote for more than 
four delegates at large his vote shall not be counted for any of such 
delegates. Whenever any elector shall vote for more than two district 
delegates his vote shall not be counted for any such delegates. 

Form of ballot. 7. The official ballot for the election of delegates 
to the national convention shall be in substantially the same form 
marked “A.” 

Presidential electors, how nominated. Section 11—20. The delegates 
of each party chosen at said election to attend the national convention 
shall meet on the third Tuesday of April, succeeding such election, and 
nominate, by a majority vote, one elector for president and vice-presi¬ 
dent from each congressional district, and two such electors from the 
state at large. The names of such nominees shall be immediately cer¬ 
tified by the chairman and secretary of the meeting to the secretary of 
state. 

Section 11—22, Primary Law, amended by Cli. 300, 1911, to conform 
to this section. 













































































































































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